End support for fragile tubular articles



Dec. 14, 1965 H. R. wElss 3,223,234

END SUPPORT FOR FRGILE TUBULAR ARTICLES Filed Feb. l, 1965 2SheetS-Shee, 1

5 1;-- 4 INVENTOR i7 Hugh R.Weis5 BY7c ,Zmuw

ATTORNEYS Dec. 14, 1965 H, R, wElss 3,223,234

END SUPPORT FDR FRAGILE TUBULAR ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. l,1965 l h i lll* in l INVENTOR Hugh, R. We iss ATTORNEYS United StatesPatent Olce 3,223,234 Patented Dec. 14, 1965 3,223,234 END SUPPORT FORFRAGILE TUBULAR ARTICLES Hugh R. Weiss, Montclair, NJ., assignor to ThePantasota Company, Passaic, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Feb.1, 1965, Ser. No. 429,420 12 Claims. (Cl. 206-65) The present inventionrelates to shipping containers for fragile tubular articles, such asfluorescent tubes, and more particularly to cushioned receptacles whichare vacuum molded from thin sheets of plastic and constructed to receivea series of glass tubes and to protect them against damage in theshipping carton.

Heretofore, relatively thick preformed protective paperboard trays havebeen employed for shipping iiuorescent tubes in paperboard cartons orthe like and have been shaped to t or support the cyiindrical outersurface of the tubes as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patent No.3,163,312. In spite of the use of these protective trays, a considerablenumber of tubes have been broken in shiping particularly when thecartons were dropped on edge.

It has now been discovered that damage to fluorescent tubes duringshipping can be reduced by mounting the opposite ends of the tubes onone-piece vacuum-formed end pads or receptacles formed of thin plasticsheets and having corrugated walls and recesses shaped to lit the tubes.The end walls of the recesses at the ends of the uorescent tubes limitthe axial movement but can yield somewhat to cushion shocks, and thecorrugated side wall which engages the interior surface of the end wallof the shipping carton is inclined to permit substantial axialcushioning movement. This side wall is sufficiently strong to provide aneifective cushioning means while at the same time centering theiiuorescent tube in the carton. The thin walls of the tube-receivingrecesses which form the sides of the partitions are preferablycorrugated to provide strength and to permit stacking by placing the endpads in engagement with an underlying row of fluorescent tubes. Thismakes possible stacking as many as four rows of tubes with only fiverows of plastic end pads at each end of the shipping carton (theuppermost pad being inverted to protect the uppermost tubes). When thetubes are long, adequate support and protection is provided using asauxiliary center supports similar plastic receptacles which are open atboth sides.

An object of the present invention is to minimize damage to uorescenttubes or other fragile tubular articles during shipping.

A further object of the invention is to reduce the weight of protectiveholders in shipping containers to facilitate handling.

A still further object of the invention is to provide improvedprotective receptacles for fragile articles which can be mass producedat minimum cost.

Other objects, uses and advantages of the invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art from the following description and claimsand from the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational View on a reduced scale with parts brokenaway and shown in section illustrating the shipping container assemblyof this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2of FIGURE 1 and on a larger scale;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of one of the end pads used in the assemblyof FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational View of the pad of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the pad of FIGURE 4, on a larger scale;

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal sectional View of the pad taken substantiallyon the line 6 6 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is a transverse sectional View of the pad taken on the line 7 7of FIGURE 3 which further shows the carton of FIGURES l and 2, thefluorescent tube being shown in dot-dash lines;

FIGURE 8 is a top plan View of the central tray used to support thecentral portion of each tube in the assembly of FIGURE 1, the repeatingdesign of central portion being omitted;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational View of the central tray of FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 10-10 ofFIGURE 9.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES l to 9 of the drawings, which aredrawn substantially to scale, there is shown a paperboard shippingcarton A having top and bottom rectangular walls 1 and 2, parallelrectangular side walls 3, and rectangular end walls 4 perpendicular tothe walls 3 and having flat rectangular interior surfaces 5.

Packed within the carton A are several rows of conventional fluorescenttubes a, the carton shown herein being constructed to receive 24 tubeseach having a length somewhat less than the distances between theinterior surfaces 5. Each fluorescent tube a has an exteriorlycylindrical glass tube 7 and a pair of metal end caps 8 having a pair ofspaced prongs 9 to provide the electrical connections. The 24 uorescenttubes are supported in four parallel rows in the carton A with eachtubes in horizontal alignment with iive other tubes and in verticalalignment with three other tubes as shown in FIGURE 2. The necessarysupport is provided by ten plastic end pads 1t), and tive plasticcentral pads 11, which are similar to the end pads but are open at bothsides.

The end pad 1t) is a vacuum formed as an elongated one-piece receptaclefrom a thin rectangular resinous material which is preferably athermoplastic material such as polyvinylchloride, a copolymer of vinylchloride and vinyl acetate, or various other vinyl resins. The shape ofthe end pad 10 may vary considerably, but it is preferable to providegenerally semi-cylindrical corrugated articlereceiving recesses orpockets and a corrugated side wall generally as shown in FIGURES 3 to 7of the drawings, which are drawn to scale to facilitate an understandingof the invention. The structure of each pad 10 will be apparent from thedrawings. Each pad has straight parallel side edges 13 and 14 andparallel end edges 15 and 16 perpendicular to the side edges and locatedsubstantially in the same plane, it being understood, of course, thatthe edges will become deformed somewhat after being cut. Each pad 1t)has a series of tube-receiving recesses or pockets 17 of generallycylindrical shape and a semicircular cross section, the recesses beingbounded by a series of upright separator ribs or partitions 18 and endpartitions 19 and 2t), the latter partitions being preferably providedwith arcuate notches 21 to facilitate removal of the fluorescent tubes.The end pad usually has at least four recesses 17 and preferably hasfive to ten of such recesses, whereby the pad has a length at leastseveral 3 times its width and preferably three to eight times its width.

The partitions 18 have corrugated side walls 22 at the sides of therecess 17, and the bottom wall portion 23 of that recess is providedwith similar corrugations which are continuations of the corrugations ofthe wall 22, the corrugations at 22 and 23 being regularly spaced alongthe length of each recess 17 as shown in the drawings. Thus, the roundedconvex portions 24 of the corrugations have a convex shape as shown inFIGURE 7 and have a radius as shown in FIGURE 6 substantially the sameas the radius of the glass tubes 7 so as to fit the tubes and provide agood support therefor. The corrugations not only strengthen the walls ofthe recess 17 but also assist in holding the glass tube 7 away from theunderlying glass tube which engages the bottom of the end pad. Thismakes it possible to pack the fluorescent tubes as shown in FIGURE 2,using only the pads 10 and 11 between one row of fluorescent tubes andthe underlying row. In order to further protect the tubes and to furtherreinforce the bottom wall portion 23 of each recess 17, it is preferableto provide an intermediate projection having a straight top edge at itscenter fold and a generally lenticular margin as viewed from the top.Each of the projections 25 is located midway between the adjacent convexportions 24 of the corrugations at the center of the groove.

An upright generally at end wall 35 is provided at the end of eachrecess 17 for engaging the end of the fluorescent tube a as indicated inFIGURE 7 to center the tube in the carton A while limiting axialmovement thereof. The end walls 35 are preferably located substantiallyin a plane parallel to the edges 13 and 14, and said end walls arepreferably inclined somewhat to facilitate entry of the cap 8 and toprovide a more effective cushioning action.

The end of each recess 17 remote from the wall 35 is open, and thepartitions 18 are provided with upright end walls 26 having roundedportions 27 at the corners of the partitions as shown in FIGURE 7. Thetop surface 28 of each partition preferably is located a distance fromthe bottom portions 23 equal to the radius of the part 24 and the radiusof the tube 7, but said surface 28 need not be parallel to the planecontaining the edges 13 and 14. As herein shown, the surface 28 isinclined downwardly from the rounded portion 27 so that notches 29 canbe provided at the top of the elongated upright side wall 30 of the pad.Said side wall preferably has a maximum height corresponding to theheight of the partitions 18, 19 and 20 so that the upper surface of thepad below the uppermost row 0f fluorescent tubes will engage and supportthe inverted uppermost pad 11 resting on the top of said row of tubes asshown in FIGURE l. Also, the side wall 30 is preferably provided withregularly spaced corrugations 31 which extend throughout the length ofthe pad as shown in FIGURE 3. The pad is also provided with end walls 32and 33 which are preferably corrugated in the same manner as the sidewall 30. The corrugations strengthen the side and end walls and enablethem to provide strong supports while also yieldably resisting movementof the fluorescent tubes toward the walls of the shipping carton,thereby cushioning shocks and preventing damage to the tubes as pointedout in more detail hereinafter.

The semicircular end walls 35 may be constructed in various ways and maybe substantially rigid, but it is preferable to construct the end padsso that the end walls 35 assist in cushioning shocks. As herein shown, aprongreceiving depression 36 is provided at the top of each wall 35 andhas a generally trapezoidal shape as shown in FIGURE 6 and asubstantially uniform width as indicated in FIGURE 3. The depression 36is open `at one end to receive the electrical connectors 9 of thefluorescent tube and is closed at its opposite end by an upright wall37. A semicircular notch 38 is preferably provided at the top center ofeach depression 36 in axial alignment with the associated recess 17. Anarrow crescent-shaped iin 39 may be provided midway between the ends ofthe notch 38 as best shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. Posts 40 and 41 are thusprovided on opposite sides of the notches 38 and at the ends of therecesses 17 and similar posts 40 and 4l are provided at the ends of thepad 10. The top surfaces of these various posts are preferably at andlocated substantially in a plane containing the upper surface of thepartitions 19 and 20 and the uppermost surface of the partitions 18 andparallel to the plane containing the edges 13 and 14 as seen in FIGURE7, for example. The posts tend to strengthen the end pad and make itpossible to provide adequate support for the tubes even though each padis made from a plastic sheet having a very small thickness (for example,a thickness of .003 to .0l inch).

The central pads 11 are symmetrical and open at both ends and,therefore, do not have posts similar to those of the pad 10. However,the partitions of the central pads 11 may be generally the same as thoseof the pad 10 or similar thereto. Thus, each of the central pads 11could have a cross section generally as indicated in FIGURE 2; however,it will be apparent that the cross section of each tube-receiving recessrnay vary somewhat. As shown in FIGURE 9, the central pad 11 hastube-receiving recesses 47 which are generally trapezoidal but are,nevertheless, shaped to t the cylindrical wall of the tube 7 as shown indot-dash lines in that figure, the top of each partion 48 being locatedsubstantially in a plane containing the axes of the row of tubes. Inaddition to the intermediate partitions 48, there are end partitions 49and 50 having flat exterior walls 53 which form the end walls of the pad11. The end walls 53 are preferably inclined like the end walls 32 and33 so as to perform a cushioning function and may be corrugated likewalls 32 and 33 if desired. The side walls 51 of the partitions 48 to 50and the bottom portions 52 of the recesses 47 are provided withregularly spaced corrugations throughout the length of thetube-receiving recess, said corrugations preferably being similar tothose of the pads 10 but generally straight as in FIG- URE 9 rather thanrounded in cross section as in FIG- URE 2. The central pad 11 thusfunctions generally like the pads 10 and supporting one row of tubes ontop of another, the opposite end edges 55 engaging the end side walls 3of the carton at opposite ends thereof to hold the fluorescent tubesagainst transverse movement except to the extent that such movement ispermitted by deformation of the end walls 53. The marginal edge 54 ofthe pad 11 is rectangular like that of the pad 10 and the dimensions ofsaid marginal edge may be the same as that of the pad 10, if desired.

It will be noted that the corrugated end walls 32 and 33 of each tray 10and the similar end walls 53 of the tray 11 are inclined so that thebottom portions of the end walls engage the side walls of the box andthe upper portions are normally .spaced from the side walls a smallfraction of an inch. Thus each of the end walls 32 and 33 is inclined toprovide a narrow clearance space 46 and yields under pressure to cushionshocks by moving within the clearance space. This cushioning action isnot obtained in the packing elements of Patent No. 3,163,312, forexample.

While the cushioning of shocks at the side walls is helpful, even moreimportant is the cushioning of axial shocks which occur, for example,when the shipping carton is dropped on end. The end pads 10 areespecially well suited for cushioning such end shocks. As shown in FIG-URE 7, the end edge 13 at the bottom of the pad 10 engages the innersurface 5 of the end wall to center the fluorescent tube a in the cartonbut the side wall 30 is inclined to provide a narrow clearance space 45which gradually increases in width in an upward direction, the upper endof wall 30 normally being spaced a small fraction of an inch (i.e., 0.1to 0.2 inch) from surface 5 and being free to move in the clearancespace t0 cushion axial shocks. The bottom of the wall 32 or 33 ispreferably ared outwardly as shown in the drawings, but this is notessential.

The posts 46 and 41 and the notches 38 tend to reinforce the side of theend pad and to make the side wall 30 function more effectively inholding the fluorescent tubes centered in the carton. Also, thedepressions 35 improve the cushioning action of the end walls 3S.

It will be apparent that the size of the end pads 10 may varyconsiderably. However, they are usually about 10 to l5 inches long andabout 2 to 3 inches wide, and each end wall 3S is usually spaced a smallfraction of an inch (i.e., 0.2 to 0.5 inch) from the sidewall 3f). Eacharticlereceiving recess 17 preferably has a length about 2 to 5 timesits height, and each of the corrugated portions 24 at the bottom of eachrecess 17 has its inner and outer surfaces spaced apart a distanceseveral times its thickness to protect the associated fluorescent tubeagainst damage due to pressing against an adjacent tube. As shown hereinthe vertical distance from a horizontal plane containing edges 13 and 14to the tube 7 resting on the corrugated wall portion 23 is around 0.1inch or so.

The construction shown provides adequate protection for the tubes 7 whenthey are stacked as shown in FIG- URE 2. The weight of the tubes will,of course, deform the edges 13 and 14, but there is adequate strength inthe wall portions 23 and the marginal portions of the pad 10 to maintainadequate separation of adjacent rows of tubes even when the thickness ofthe plastic is very small (i.e., .002 to .005 inch). It is thus possibleto mass produce the trays 10 and 11 at very low cost using conventionalequipment such as shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,902,718 or U.S. Patent No.3,026,566.

It will be understood that the above description is by way ofillustration rather than limitation and that, in accordance with theprovisions of the patent laws, variations and modifications of thespecific devices shown herein may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An end pad for locating and protecting fluorescent tubes in ashipping carton comprising an elongated onepiece receptacle formed of athin generally rectangular sheet of thermoplastic material and having arow of tubeend-receiving recesses dened by a series of regularly spacednarrow transverse partitions, each partition having diverging side wallswith corrugations spaced along its length for engaging the cylindricalouter surface of a uorescent tube and an upright end wall at one side ofsaid pad for engaging the end of the tube, one end of each recess beingopen at said one side and the other end being closed by an upright endwall spaced a small fraction of an inch from the other side oi said pad,and resilient cushioning means for yieldably centering the iluorescenttubes in the carton comprising an inclined side wall at said other sideof said pad with vertical corrugations spaced apart along the length ofsaid pad and having a height at least about equal to that of thetube-receiving recesses and having a length many times its height.

2. An end pad as defined in claim 1 wherein the top of said last-namedside wall and the upper surfaces of said partitions are located adjacenta plane containing the axes of the fluorescent tubes.

3. An end pad as defined in claim 2 wherein each of said recesses has asemi-circular cross section.

4. A end pad as defined in claim 2. wherein each of said recesses has alength at least about twice the height of said partitions.

5. An end pad as defined in claim 2 wherein a series of depressions areformed at the top of the end pad between the corrugated side wall andthe transverse recesses to provide a series of reinforcing posts havingtheir upper surfaces located adjacent said plane.

6. An end pad for a shipping carton containing glass tubes comprising athin generally rectangular sheet of a synthetic resinous material formedto provide a narrow upright side wall with vertical corrugations spacedapart throughout its length, a pair of corrugated end walls and a row ofregularly spaced generally semi-cylindrical recesses separated by aseries of narrow corrugated transverse partitions, each with a length atleast twice its height, each partition having an end wall at the side ofthe end pad remote from said side wall forming part of the opposite sideof the pad and terminating at upright end walls formed at the ends ofthe adjacent recesses, said upright end walls being generally inalignment in a direction perpendicular to the tubes and being spaced asmall fraction of an inch from said first-named side wall, said sidewall being inclined to provide resilient cushioning means for yieldablycentering the tubes in the shipping carton.

7. End pads for use in supporting a series of rows of elongated glasstubes in a shipping carton having rectangular side and end walls, eachpad comprising an elongated one-piece receptacle formed of a thin sheetof resinous material with a thickness in the neighborhood of .0l inch orless and having a row of recesses of a size to receive said tubes whichis defined by narrow transverse partitions with a length substantiallyless than the width of the end pad, each partition having diverging sidewalls with corrugations spaced along its length and an upright end wallfor engaging the end of one of said tubes to hold it away from the endwall of said carton, each end pad having one side wall with corrugationsspaced apart along its length and a bottom edge portion for engaging theend wall of the carton to position the glass tubes in the carton whilethe upper portion of said side wall is spaced from said end wall, saidone side wall providing resilient means for cushioning axial movementsof said tubes and for moving in said clearance space in the direction ofsaid tubes during such cushioning.

S. In a shipping carton containing a series of parallel rows ofelongated glass tubes and having rectangular top, bottom and side wallsand rectangular end walls perpendicular to the tubes and spaced apart adistance greater than the length of the tubes, the combination therewithof a pair of one-piece end pads at the opposite ends of said carton forsupporting each row of tubes, each pad comprising an elongated one-piecetray formed of a thin sheet of resinous material and having a row ofrecesses of a size to receive said tubes, a partition between each pairof recesses having diverging corrugated side walls engaging theperiphery of the adjacent tubes, each recess having an upright end wallspaced a small distance from the end wall of the carton and engaging theend portion of the tube in that recess yieldably to center the tube inthe carton, each end pad having a corrugated side wall inclined so thatthe bottom portion thereof engages the end wall of the carton and theupper portion is spaced from said end wall to provide a clearance space,said side wall providing resilient means for cushioning axial movementsof said tubes by deforming in said clearance space in response to anaxial force exerted by the tubes.

9. The combination defined in claim 8 wherein only one end pad isprovided between adjacent rows of tubes at each end of the carton andthe uppermost row of tubes is supported by one of the end pads andcovered by a simi- Alar end pad in inverted position at each end of thecarton.

10. The combination deined in claim 9 wherein the central portion ofeach tube is supported by a one-piece tray formed of a thin sheet ofresinous material with a thickness in the neighborhood of .01 inch orless which is elongated in a direction perpendicular to the tubes, eachtray having a series of recesses of a size to receive the tubes and aseries of partitions with corrugations spaced along their length forengaging the opposite side portions of each tube.

11. The combination detined in claim 10 wherein the tray has parallelmarginal end edges engaging the opposite side walls of the carton andend walls which are inclined to provide narrow clearance spaces thatgradually increase in width in an upward direction away from Wallsproviding resilient means for cushioning shocks'by deforming in saidclearance space when subjected to substantial pressure.

'12. The combination defined in claim v8 wherein the Walls of Aeachrecess are generally semi-cylindrical and have .regularly spacedcorrugations for engaging the tubes around the circumference thereof,the portions of the corrugations at the bottom of the trayhavinggenerally straight pleats in the -valleys'between the raised portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/ 1953 Ambretteet al. 229--14 12/1957 Caswell 206-65 1/1962 Agriss et al. 229-14 1/1964Burket 206-65 X 8/1964 Maize 206-65 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1911 GreatBritain.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

1. AN END PAD FOR LOCATING AND PROTECTING FLUORESCENT TUBES IN ASHIPPING CARTON COMPRISING AN ELONGATED ONEPIECE RECEPTACLE FORMED OF ATHIN GENERALLY RECTANGULAR SHEET OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL AND HAVING AROW OF TUBEEND-RECEIVING RECESSES DEFINED BY A SERIES OF REGULARLYSPACED NARROW TRANSVERSE PARTITIONS, EACH PARTITION HAVING DIVERGINGSIDE WALLS WITH CORRUGATIONS SPACED ALONG ITS LENGTH FOR ENGAGING THECYLINDRICAL OUTER SURFACE OF A FLUORESCENT TUBE AND AN UPRIGHT END WALLAT ONE SIDE OF SAID PAD FOR ENGAGING THE END OF THE TUBE, ONE END OFEACH RECESS BEING OPEN AT SAID ONE SIDE AND THE OTHER END BEING CLOSEDBY AN UPRIGHT END WALL SPACED A SMALL FRACTION OF AN INCH FROM THE OTHERSIDE OF SAID PAD, AND RESILIENT CUSHIONING MEANS FOR YIELDABLY CENTERINGTHE FLUORESCENT TUBES IN THE CARTON COMPRISING AN INCLINED SIDE WALL ATSAID OTHER SIDE OF SAID PAD WITH VERTICAL CORRUGATIONS SPACED APARTALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID PAD AND HAVING A HEIGHT AT LEAST ABOUT EQUAL TOTHAT OF THE TUBE-RECEIVING RECESSES AND HAVING A LENGTH MANY TIMES ITSHEIGHT.